Hawks closing in on victory soon

SANTA BARBARA – San Diego Christian College is moving closer, but the losing streak continues after Westmont College swept a pair of Golden State Athletic Conference doubleheaders at Carr Field to close the week.

Both contests saw the Hawks hold leads entering the final innings, but both times the Warriors eventually answered, sending the Hawks to their 24th consecutive setback.

Entering the 4-game set, the competitive all-time series was even at 32-all.

Friday (Mar. 26)
Westmont 13-9, San Diego Christian 10-7
Game 1:  The Hawks (the home team despite playing on the road) tallied eight times in their first at-bat, still holding a 10-2 lead through five innings.

However, Westmont registered four runs in both the sixth and seventh innings to knot the contest at 10-all, then posted three more markers in the ninth to win.

The big inning included a 2-run double by Aaron Hoch. The lead later expanded on solo home runs by center fielder Ryan Lystlund in the third, then shortstop Billy Strohm in the fifth.

However, the Warriors tallied twice in the sixth to take a 9-7 decision to send the Hawks to their 24th consecutive setback.

Hawks’ second baseman Jalani Brown batted 3-for-4. The ballclub also rece3ived two hits each from Strohm, Lystlund, righty fielder Joseph Canty and third baseman Jake Luther of Hawai’i.

Game 2: The Hawks again sprinted out of the gate to a 7-2 advantage through two innings, but the Warriors inched back by scoring once or twice in six straight frames, including a pair of tie-breaking runs in the sixth to continue the SDCC’s agony.

Hawks first baseman Alex Stufft, in his initial appearance of the season, belted a pair of doubles, scoring both times.

Game 2: Hawks pitching only had two poor innings, but it was enough after the Warriors scored five times in the second, then seven more in the fifth.

Canty belted a 3-run homer in the second for a 7-3 lead. Brown batted 3-for-3 with a walk.

Thursday (Mar.25)
Westmont 11-13, San Diego Christian 2-4
The Warriors host the doubleheader at Carr Field, yet were the visiting team as the ballfield utilized by the Hawks for home contests remains closed due to a pandemic. The decisions extended the losing string to  22 straight.

Game 1: The Hawks held an early 1-0 lead before Westmont leadoff batter John Jensen went crazy. The left=hander fell a single short of hitting for the cycle, driving in three runs with a double, triple, and a home run.

San Diego Christian received two hits each from left fielder Jaleni Brown and second baseman Jacob Kokeny. There was also a nice relief pitching effort by Isaiah Ahumada, who registered two strikeouts over 1 1/3 innings.